BACK FROM VACATION In Pictures…

Well, this was my first week back from vacation! Man has it been rough (LOL). I got used to hiking, camping, swimming, and just vegging out every day. Taking some “me” time.

I started vacation off on Friday August 5th by driving down to Ann Arbor for a book signing for Saundra Mitchell, Rhonda Stapleton, Lara Zielen, Christine Johnson, and Aimee Carter. The name of the book tour was Girls Taking Over the World. All I can say is it was FABULOUS!! They spoke about the importance of girls as strong main characters, their books, how they got started etc. It was VERY good.

I drove the 3 hours back home and then had to get up 4 1/2 hours later to leave on my trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s absolutely gorgeous up there. Seriously. There is so much wilderness, it’s like being in another country or world.

Every year we go up, we make a stope at Sea Shell City.

Here we mess around, look at cool “sea” themed things. And the kids get their pictures taking by ridiculous things in the store:

My Daughter Erin posing with a giant stuffed bear.

My youngest son, Chase posing with the giant stuffed bear.

My hubby and son Barrett posing with the bear. And why yes, my hubby is smoking a toy pipe (don’t ask–LOL).

After our grand adventure at Sea Shell City, we got back on the road and headed up to Mackinac City. Here we took the kids to the historic Old Mill Creek. There are a lot of cool places to look around and learn more about the old woodmills etc. And they also offer a new Adventure Tour, which includes zip lines, rock climbing wall, and a really high rope bridge.

After watching a demonstration on some of the old ways of wood chopping we headed into town where we went on a tour of a lighthouse, and also Fort Michilimac.

The fort was a lot of fun. They had all the reenactment people up there in tents, and dressed in period clothing that weekend.

Here’s a pic of the kids in one of the guard towers. And man is Chase awesome with a cannon (LOL).

After that we headed across the Mackinac Bridge to our first stop/camp site in the UP.

We did some running in St. Ignace, then hung out at the camp site for the rest of the night as we had to get up early to catch our ferry across to the island (Mackinac Island). Mackinac Island is kind of a cool place. There aren’t any cars allowed. Everyone gets around by either bike, horse, or horse cart/buggies. The island has a lot of large, old houses, as well as historical sites. We did a TON of walking and hiking while we were there. We visited the old fort on the island then went out to see Arch Rock, Skull Cave, etc.

(Above, the Fort, below Arch Rock)

The island is also known for it’s fudge (yummy). So of course, I had to purchase some before we headed back to the mainland. We had an awesome time sightseeing (the Grand Hotel, the Governor’s Mansion and seeing miles of island). I was holy-hellah-tired when we got done though.

The next morning, we drove another few hours north to our favorite camp spot: Fayette State Park. It’s out in the middle of nowhere and there is a ghost town/historic site of where the old town of Fayette used to stand. There are ruins there and some buildings that still stand right on Lake Michigan. It’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL! And it’s got some pretty fantastic views of not only Lake Michigan, but of some of the bluffs, and a really wild Fairytale-esque kind of woods.

I could post cool pics all day (sigh). Seriously relaxing place. We spent 6 nights in Fayette. And while there, my boys decided they were going to do a little “Lord of the Rings” stuff (LOL). Yeah…you’ll below. If you haven’t gathered from the pics yet, we’re kind of a bunch of dorks (mainly me and the kids–snicker).

(Barrett (above) he actually carved the walking stick himself-below Chase, holding the bow/arrows my hubby carved/made while we were up there).

Now they’re doing battle:

It wasn’t all doing battles with Middle Earth and stuff (LOL). We also enjoyed some calmer moments (sun sets/beach/campfires).

And our last night there, my hubby managed to steal the camera and actually get a pic with me playing a card came with the kids…Better look quick, because I normally don’t let anyone take my pic (LOL). Seriously though, I’ve got HUNDREDS of pics from vacation. I had so much fun and was so relaxed. It’s hard coming back to the real world. So here it is, our last night in Fayette…Can’t wait until next year!